Strange change

Carradene watches the little vixen laugh and play with her kits, and grins even more as the little demi-fox Sigin give of a delighted yell and shift into his fox form and also begins to romp with his kits. The kits, who have already begun to crawl in their more human form and walk in their fox kit form, yip happily as they chase a toy ball that Sigin had conjured for just this occasion.

"Sigin seems taken by his new form," Fred, who is in human form says quietly to Malachi (also in human form). "Is it because of his new form, or because he's become to like being a demi-fox?"

"More like he's finally found something he's been looking for," sighs Malachi. "Sometimes a dragon or dragonness looks for their entire lives for that special someone to join together.....to bond Hoards......to lay a few eggs with......to live together in love with. Dragons don't.....really fall in love the same way humans do, though they do love."

"When Eye meets Eye?" Carradene smiles, taking a guess.

"Exactly," Malachi nods. "Let me tell you, I thank God that....."

The dragonness turns pale, for she let slip.....what she had sworn NEVER to reveal. Fred smiles and strokes her cheek, for he had already known.....by their sharing of their souls.

"It's alright," whispers Fred. "This is an entirely new world, though it looks like our Terra. And these are friends....the new Circle we formed! Finally, we've seen what happened to the Eternal City, so I doubt that anyone from Rome, a city of ghosts and shades, will accuse the Sisters of Charity chapel of being heritics."

"By the hand of Fate of Allah," Carradene swears to himself, as sees what is going on here. "YOUR that dragon from the legend I've heard several members of the Pack sing about around the fire during some meetings!"

"Yes," Malachi says, not able to deny it (nor wanting to now....since the truth is out). "Apparently your world has the the distorted tale of what happened to me, also." The dragonness decides that if she's going to reveal the truth, she'll reveal the whole truth.

Even the demi-fox kits seem to stop and listen as Malachi gives the legend of what happened.....and what actually happened.

The dragonness takes a deep breath, and begins to speak:

It seems that a certain dragon had been running amock in the countryside, and had basically made life difficult for the local villagers. Fighters had gone out to try to slay the beast, but none had been able to accomplish the task. So, a holy woman, a nun, took it upon herself to go out and confront the dragon....to bring it under control.

Nun and dragon met, and dragon was about to attack the human that had invaded it's territory when the nun splashed....holy water on the beast. This had a strange effect on the vile wyrm in that it tame the dragon. The thing became docile, and kept nodding it's head at whatever the nun said. Also, the dragon followed the nun around like a loving puppy dog.

The nun, knowing that the effects of the holy water would not last, had a woodsman with an ax kill the trusting dragon, before it snapped out of it.

"Now," Malachi continues. "This is what REALLY took place.....at least in MY world." The dragoness talked about it like it had happened to a different person. Odd, but an effective story telling device......

In reality, the dragon was actually the dragonness Malachi, who had fallen under a curse laid by a rival from a different Circle (who had objections to the Dragonness' philosophy of aiding humans and such....contrary to what was popular to Occidental dragons). This curse caused the dragonness to act in a manner contrary to her normal behavior. Basically, it made her do evil things, but.....something inside her prevented her from actually killing humans.....so instead she basically tore up the countryside, and made the peasants miserable. A nun from a sect who believed that nonhumans actually had souls and thus should be converted to the True Faith-Christianity--took it upon herself to save the dragonness from herself. She did indeed splash holy water on the dragon.

The holy water broke the curse (which was about the ONLY kind of thing that would have done it), and the dragonness came to herself. Aghast and disjusted at what she had done, the distraught dragoness would have gone off to kill herself in shame if the nun hadn't stopped her and forced the dragonness to confess her sins. This stunned the dragonness, but she did it anyway. After hours the nun finally said that what Malachi had done was not her fault and that she needn't be ashamed of her actions. The nun also said a few other things, all along the lines of her work, but the dragonness!......She was reeling from what she had done, and this kind woman had SAVED her! The dragonness' heart was full of gratitude and love, and begged the nun....to baptize her!! It was unusual in the extreme, but the nun did that, and Malachi became a true daughter of the Church, throwing off her old religion of worshiping Tiamat (goddess of dragons) and became......a Christain.

Now, the sect had known that it's heretical beliefs would get it in hot water with Rome, so it hadn't.....told Rome about this whole deal. Malachi was sworn to secrecy, and the story was changed to that of what bards sing of today.

"Since then I've learned the counters to that type branch of magery," Malachi sighs. "It had been a stupid oversight on my part....laziness really. As I know it, all the other Dragon Circle Members had studied the counters centuries earlier in their lifetime.

"I've learned much since then and still have much to learn," she finishes. "But I do know grattitude....and I do know Who I believe in. Is this a problem, gentlemen?"

"Considering the vastly different cultures and believes that went into making the Pack," chuckles Carradene. "And how our....hearts whispered to each other to smooth out most problems.....I can't see what's wrong with this."

Sigin is making noises, like he's trying to say something, but can't. Rosepaw yips a high pitch laugh, and pitches in her opinion.

"That's not strange considering I follow Tiamat....like my love," she giggles and then licks Sigin's nose....which is now inches away from her. His head had whipped around in shock (well....deeper shock) at what his Familiar just said. It shocked him, since the news that his Familiar now shares his beliefs.....and believes in a goddess HE believes in....is almost too much to take in. Between the fact that a vixen who hadn't been intelligent....hadn't been a person until a few months ago with the.....coupling....and the shocking news about Malachi's....this Malachi's true faith.

Sigin takes a calming breath, looks at what has gone on in a calm....rational frame of mind, and then.....startles himself by beginning to laugh, for something just occured to him! Something that makes him fit right into this strange group. Whether it be his demi-fox nature asserting itself,a hidden wish he never aknowledged before now, or the Bond that formed between him and Rosepaw making him desire this. Whatever the case, he just realized how funny it is! He finds himself rolling on the floor, holding his stomach. Finally, eyes streaming tears of mirth, he smiles at Malachi.

"I'm sorry," the demi-fox says after composing himself. "I wasn't laughing at you....I was laughing at the absurdity of my......misconceptions about all of dragonkind.....which I'll never be a part of again."

"And actually am beginning to like this....since it includes Rosepaw here," the demi-fox smiles, kissing the vixen on the nose.

"Well," Malachi chuckles....seeing that this is kind of funny....in a bizarre fashion. "We've got quiet a strange Circle here. It's only got Two dragons in it, one who had been born human....and was a Dragon Slayer who fell in love with the very same creature he was supposed to kill. We have a dragonness who fell in love with a dragon slaying human....who is now the dragon of my dreams. We have a fox who now talks and follows a faith I know longer follow. And....we have a dragon who no longer wants to ever be a dragon."

"I think we fit in this world, " Fred smiles in a sardonic way. "We aren't exactly what could be considered.....normal? Even Carradene, when we offered to cure him....even cure him of his Delgrado whatis when he became human again, doesn't want to be what he had been.

1. It might not be a small world, but it's a weird world!

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